BIRDING NORTH ICELAND - Nature destination development

Biotope recently made another visit to northern Iceland. For the past two years we have made repeated trips to this amazing birding destination, as a part of a nature destination development project we are working on. In collaboration with local nature based businesses we are exploring the region with the aim of designing and building a series of bird hides, photo hides and wind shelters. 

Birding Northwest Iceland - May 2016

 Harlequin Duck, Blönduós May 2016

Nature destination development: Northwest Iceland

Iceland delivers some of the coolest birding in Europe. We just visited the northwestern region of Iceland, working on a destination development scheme. For 10 days we have visited, researched, measured and photographed a wide range of sites. Visiting Iceland is not "just" a birding thing: The landscape, the mammals and the people you meet are equally an important part of any visit to this cool destination. Not to mention the heitur pottur culture! Almost everywhere you go you can sink into  a relaxing hot bath, in the field, at your hotel or at any of the numerous public baths. 

BIRDING ICELAND - Harlequin Ducks & more niceness along the Northeast Iceland birding trail

Harlequin Ducks in Laxa river, Northeast Iceland, october 2014

Northeast Iceland - nature destination development

Biotope recently visited Iceland, invited by the people behind the Northeast Iceland Birding Trail. Naturally we were quite excited about getting this request. Iceland is well known in the birding world as one of the best places in the world to expereience birds like the stunning Harlequin Duck and the Iconic Gyrfalcon. 

The "Harleking" - a celebrity bird

A brief follow up on the increasingly famous Harlequin duck in Persfjorden, Varanger

The adult male Harlequin Duck or the "Harleking", is now quite the celebrity in Varanger. The first photo on the Norwegian bird log www.artsobservasjoner.no/fugler have been seen more then 1700 times. On the danish bird forum Netfugl.dk the Harlequin photo have been seen more then 800 times. The article describing the find, released on Martin Garners Birding Frontiers blog was read 1600 times the first day. In Varanger the bird have now been seen by a couple of hundred birders! The "Harleking" also made it the regional newspaper Finnmarken.

New bird news service:

In collaboration with www.birdlife.no we are now running a Varanger / Finnmark bird news service with many of the local guesthouses hotels, etc in Varanger included in a sms-group recieving the latest bird news from the region. We have also launched a twitter service dedicated to the latest bird news in Varanger and Finnmark, see @Finnmarkbirding. You will find it in the sidebar on this website, and soon to come on several other websites (if you want the @Finnmarkbirding twitterfeed on your website, then drop me a mail). 

For more details on where to find the bird see the Birding Frontiers article:

https://birdingfrontiers.wordpress.com/2012/06/24/varanger-the-harleking/

I just came back from another trip to the outer Varanger fjord and the magnificent Harlequin Duck is still present, and showing very well!

Harlequin Duck (Harlekinand, Histrionicus histrionicus) prefers the company of Long-tailed Duck 

 That is the Harlequin in the centre of the photo, with Harlequin-finder Anders Mæland. Good birding in Varanger!

 Now seen by lots of birders

Where to find the Harlequin Duck, see orange arrow. Vardø island to the right.

 The celebrity duck

This bird completes the exclusive selection of very cool ducks that can be found in Varanger this summer.

Tormod A. / Biotope

twitter @BiotopeOffice